A bug in your ear Back in the summer of 2004, John J. McCauley III was out for a hike with some friends in the woods of his native Rhode Island.

Drink like Don If Mad Men has taught us anything, it's that we shouldn't go to a 1960s advertising executive for health advice.

A bad boy's guide to earning your B(ad) A(ss) With some exceptions, college is a nightclub with a $30,000 annual cover charge. Tests and term papers occasionally crash the party, but for the most part undergraduate matriculation is an excuse to engage in outlandish hedonism.

Review: Bellflower In addition to the flamethrower, they've also rigged up a whiskey-dispensing car dashboard, and as a piece de resistance have created the Road Warrior–inspired "Medusa," a 1972 Buick Skylark souped up to breathe fire.

HAYMARKET, UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL | November 28, 2012 The cab driver looked puzzled as he dropped me off on North Street, which runs the periphery of Haymarket Square. At 5:20 am, it was still dark, but the bustle on Haymarket's Blackstone Street had begun about two hours earlier.

WHISKEY A GO GO | September 18, 2012 Whiskey has inspired — and inebriated — musicians across eras and genres.

BOSTON BARTENDERS BUST UP THE BIG EASY | August 24, 2011 There was a wedding, a funeral (for the Long Island Iced Tea), fried alligator, mechanical bulls, and Ron Jeremy on harmonica. Boston bartenders, who were there in full force, can attest to all of it.

BAR ROOM BLITZ | July 27, 2011 "TOTC" stands for Tales of the Cocktail, an annual drinks conference held each July in New Orleans.